Council Delays Final Vote On Airbnb Rules Amid Last-Minute Changes
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A final vote on new regulations for house-sharing services like Airbnb has been delayed until next month, after some aldermen objected to approving changes presented by the Emanuel administration just minutes before Wednesday's City Council meeting.
While aldermen gave the proposed rules preliminary approval in a joint committee meeting, a final vote was then tabled until the City Council's meeting on June 22.
The measure already had undergone several previous revisions before Wednesday's meeting, and aldermen were not expecting the latest changes.
"You went through with the changes on here. I have a problem with voting on a 55-page document that I got five minutes ago," Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th) said.
Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th) said aldermen need more time to read through the revisions offered by Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday.
"It's very, very complicated. … My hope is that – and I think the mayor hears us loud and clear – I mean, it will bring in some good revenue for the city of Chicago, we need it; however, we just want to make sure that the i's are dotted, and the t's are crossed, and everything works out for everyone," he said.
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Airbnb has threatened to sue over the regulations, calling them too restrictive.
Housing Committee Chairman Joe Moore (49th) said he spoke to License Committee Chairman Emma Mitts (37th) about delaying a final vote.
"We both believe it's probably in the best interests of everyone just to take a deep breath, so we're not planning on calling it today," he said.
Under the measure proposed by the mayor, the city would limit the number of short-term rentals, require hosts to register with the city, add a surcharge to pay for homeless services, and require homeowners to remain on the property during the stay when single-family homes are rented out.
Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Maria Guerra Lapacek acknowledged the city would have no way to monitor whether homeowners actually stay at their homes while renting them out.
Garza noted, for many Airbnb users, the reason they rent out their homes is to make some income when they're on vacation, or otherwise not home, and the mayor's proposal would defeat that purpose.
Some aldermen said the regulations give companies like Airbnb too much leeway, while others questioned whether the city could realistically inspect an estimated 6,000 homes that are used for home-sharing within the 150 days laid out by the mayor's office.
City attorneys said they managed to come up with a system to register 30,000 ride-hailing drivers in six months, and can do the same for Airbnb and its competitors.
Dozens of Airbnb hosts showed up at City Hall before the committee vote, urging aldermen to revise the proposed rules. They said they don't want the city rushing to regulate the industry without proper debate.
"The specific clause that I disagree with is for single-family homes, the owner would have to occupy that home, or be there for up to 120 days, and it's just not clear if they would have to be there while the guests are there, or if they would just have to be there for four months out of the year," Airbnb host Mark Brouwer said.
Home-sharing hosts said the industry has helped boost the economy, and allowed struggling homeowners make ends meet.
"Anything done in haste is usually the wrong decision. So I think that we need to spend more time understanding what the bill actually means, and understanding the language, because it's going to be here to stay, and we might as well get it right the first time," Valerie Landis said.
Supporters of the administration's proposal and those asking for even stricter regulations said they fear large investors will buy up entire apartment buildings to operate de facto hotels.
Other opponents have said they don't want neighborhoods being overrun with vacation rentals.
